# The dirt on soil carbon credits

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2022-08-25
- Length: 42m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-08-25-the-dirt-on-soil-carbon-credits

## Summary

Freya Chay, program manager for carbon removal at CarbonPlan, explains why the soil carbon credit market is currently flawed, citing failures in measurement, permanence, and additionality. She details how current protocols rely on low-confidence models rather than rigorous soil sampling, and how buffer pools fail to guarantee long-term storage against reversals like drought or practice changes. Chay argues that ton-year accounting is a flawed metric for comparing temporary soil storage with permanent removal, advocating instead for clearer distinctions between high-quality permanent credits and lower-quality offsets.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-08-25-the-dirt-on-soil-carbon-credits#t=2) Introduction: The State of Soil Carbon Markets
- [10:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-08-25-the-dirt-on-soil-carbon-credits#t=637) Measurement and Verification Challenges
- [16:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-08-25-the-dirt-on-soil-carbon-credits#t=1013) Permanence and Buffer Pool Failures
- [21:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-08-25-the-dirt-on-soil-carbon-credits#t=1314) The Additionality Problem in Offsets
- [29:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-08-25-the-dirt-on-soil-carbon-credits#t=1795) Ton-Year Accounting and Credit Quality

## Topics

- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- CarbonPlan (company)
- Energy Impact Partners (company)
- Sylvera (company)
- Stripe (company)
- SBTi (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Advancing Soil Carbon Measurement for Sustainable Food Systems with Chris Tolles of Yard Stick](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-08-29-advancing-soil-carbon-measurement-for-sustainable-food-systems-with-chris-tolles) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

## Citing this page

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